Abundance of Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) after the complete removal of deer from an isolated offshore island, endemic for lyme disease

Abstract Monhegan is an isolated 237-ha island lying 16 km off the coast of Maine. Introduced to the island in 1955, white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus Zimmerman, reached a density of ∼37/km2 by the mid-1990s. Black-legged ticks, Ixodes scapularis Say, first noticed in the late 1980s, flourished thereafter. Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus Berkenhout) on Monhegan are highly infected with Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmidt, Hyde, Steigerwalt, and Brenner, the agent of Lyme disease. By 1996, 13% of year-round residents had contracted the disease. The community’s subsequent decision to eliminate deer from the island provided a unique opportunity to monitor the abundance of vector ticks in response to the complete and permanent removal of the primary hosts of their reproductive stage. With the exception of humans and their dogs and cats, there are no other potential hosts for adult I. scapularis on Monhegan. From November 1996 to March 1999, all deer were removed from the island. Previous annual fall ...